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Continues 56 County Tour in Chouteau County
FORT BENTON, MT - Governor Greg Gianforte today continued his 56 County Tour in Chouteau County, holding a bill signing ceremony to celebrate a new law that protects water users and improves water administration in Montana.
“In Montana, water is key to our way of life – it supports our agricultural industry, our recreation, and our communities,” Gov. Gianforte said. “We have a responsibility to protect existing water uses while still ensuring reliable water supplies for growing communities and economies. This requires effective administration of our water resources.”
Joining Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) Director Amanda Kaster, Lieutenant Governor Kristen Juras, and Rep. Russ Miner, R-Great Falls, the governor ceremonially signed House Bill 441, sponsored by Rep. Miner, which is one of six bills passed during the legislative session that brings clarity to water administration.
The bill creates a process for issuing certificates of water right for provisional permits and change authorizations by removing their “provisional” status so that they transform into certificates of water right, holding the same weight as an adjudicated water right.
Montana DNRC estimates that the new law will provide certainty for approximately 12,000 permits and 4,900 change authorizations.
Initiated by the Montana DNRC and supported by the governor’s office, the Comprehensive Water Review Stakeholder Working Group spent 15 months collaborating on policy recommendations for water administration in Montana.
During a signing ceremony held in Fort Benton in front of the Missouri River, the group shared more about the impact of the legislation.
“The DNRC convened a working group with stakeholders from all of the competing water users across the state to try to find common solutions. Together, they put in thousands of hours of work to address the biggest water issues that face our state. Thanks to their work and legislative partners like Rep. Miner, we are signing a bill that provides certainty, finality, and due process for both the pre-1973 adjudicated water right holders and the post-1973 provisional permit holders,” Lieutenant Governor Juras said.
“The process succeeded because of DNRC’s dedication to collaboration,” DNRC Dir. Kaster said. “In Montana, conversations about water can be contentious and complex. To ensure meaningful and productive conversation amongst stakeholders, DNRC engaged a neutral facilitator to support monthly stakeholder meetings. The result: creative proposals, unexpected partnerships, and inclusive solutions.”
“As we say in Montana, ‘whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting.’ Water use is an important issue in our state. If you look at the Missouri beside us here, we have a lot of water — but it’s something that we have to manage and utilize responsibly for the citizens of Montana,” Rep Miner said.
The governor concluded, “Protecting existing water users and promoting adequate future supplies of water requires collaboration. Today, we celebrate the hard work and dedication of the stakeholders who came together to serve current and future water needs of Montana.”